A. Asian Championships
Photo by: Emily Chan and Singapore Gymnastics
The Final Qualifier for the 2023 World Gymnastics Championships wrapped up over the weekend. In a shocking turn of events, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan out-qualified Taiwan for the chance to compete in Belgium later this year. This was also Kazakhstan's first team medal at an Asian Gymnastics Championships. A full recap of Team and All-Around Finals can be found here.
Carlos Yulo (PHI) took half of the event finals with stellar performances on floor and parallel bars. He managed to also win the vault title despite a fall because six of the other eight gymnasts in that event final also fell. Nabbing his third major pommel horse title this season, Nariman Kurbanov (KAZ) bested World Silver medalist, Ahmad Abu Al-Soud (JOR) , to become Asian Champion. Chinese gymnasts, Lan Xingyu and Tian Hao took the still rings and high bar titles respectively.
Singapore Gymnastics did not disappoint in their coverage of the event. Japan MAG were asked to imitate emojis and they delivered!
B. The French Elite Gymnastics Championships
The 2023 French Gymnastics Championships took place over the weekend in the coastal town of Saint Briuc. It was the long awaited return of Samir Aït Saïd that garnered the most attention. In an interview, he said that he is not back to 100%, but hopes to add floor and vault back into his program. The 2019 World Bronze Medalist improved his score from qualifications by half a point to take his 10th national title with a 14.9.
The French Team as a whole has been rather quiet on the international scene in recent years, but the results from this competition are promising for their future. In addition to Saïd's very competitive rings score, gymnasts Benjamin Osberger and Kevin Carvalho eared scores that would be very competitive internationally on pommel horse and parallel bars respectively. Osberger also won the all-around title with an 82.150.
A full-recap can be found here.
C. USA 2024 Olympic Trials Location Announced
USA Gymnastics announced that Minneapolis will host the 2024 Olympic Gymnastics Trials June 27 - 30. Tickets are on sale and now available for each of the four days of competition.
D. USA Gymnastics Men's Program Updates
The U.S. Men's Senior Selection Committe released their June minutes. Of note, there may be significant changes to the composition of the U.S. National Team. Because few of the athletes in contention for the spots allocated for the senior developmental team are able to meet the required 32 D score requirement, those spots may be reallocated back to the Senior National Team. There will be a minimum of two athletes required to stay on Senior Development Team, however, assuming no other athletes meet the D Score Benchmark, and because Team USA needs to fill a Senior Worlds and Pan Ams Games Team, expect 18 of the 20 spots to be filled by more competitive athletes.
E. Illinois High School Boys Gymnastics Was Cancelled
In a sad turn of events, Illilnois has decided to discontinue high school boys gymnastics due to low participation. Oklahoma Men's Gymnastics Coach, Mark Williams wrote, " Without high school gymnastics, I would not have been able to afford to participate in the sport at any level, let alone earn a college scholarship and pursue a coaching career. It all start[ed] at LT (Lyons Townships), and these athletes' dreams matter as much as mind did."
F. Tomas Gonzalez Announced First Book
Chilean floor extraordinaire, Tomas Gonzalez has announced his first book where he will share what he has learned from his sporting and personal experiences. The book, entitled, "Champion: Lessons, triumphs, and falls of an Olympic Gymnast" will launch in July 2023.
G. Stanford Updates
As Stanford University runs on the quarter system, their end-of-the-year banquets and graduations take place later than most American Universities. Olympian and World Champion, Brody Malone, graduated and walked across the the stage aided by crutches as he recovers from an injury sustained in Germany earlier this year.
Stanford men's gymnasts also won a handful of awards at the end-of-the-year banquet. Seniors Riley Loos and JR Chou were awarded senior-specific awards. Loos took home the Donald Kennedy Award, "presented to the senior athlete who best exhibits the combination of excellent academics, strong athletic ability, and a commitment to community service." Chou was awarded the Bill Hoffman award for outstanding senior.
Freshman, Asher Hong, added the Stanford Outstanding Freshman Award to his long his of achievements this year including National Champion, CGA Rookie of the Year, and MPSF Gymnast of the Year. Nick Kuebler won the outstanding sophomore award.
H. Love Is In The Air
Over the weekend, several current and former elite gymnasts celebrated personal milestones. Amernian still rings stand-out, Vaughn Davtyan got married, and the dance floor was filled with gymnastics skills. Olympic Champion, Fabian Hambüechen married fitness coach, Viktoria Diesterbeck at the stunning Kloster Schiffenberg in Gießen, Germany.
Photo: Mike Lauterkorn
Turkish World Silver Medalist, Ahmet Önder got engaged to Rhythmic gymnastics coach, judge, and dietician, Ezgi Bozdemir.
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Article by: Kensley Behel